Indoor tanning, with the use of ultraviolet emitting fluorescent lamps, has become a popular activity for those persons seeking a tan during seasonal periods when available sunlight is at a minimum or at less predictable levels. An added benefit of indoor tanning, as opposed to outdoor tanning by natural sunlight, is that it affords the possibility to better control the exposure of the skin to UV radiation that potentially can cause sunburn (erythema). Modern tanning equipment is designed to deliver a regulated dose of UV energy that is based on a person's skin type, and the equipment is fitted with a timer to terminate the tanning session when the proper dose has been delivered. In addition, in a professional indoor tanning facility, FDA regulated equipment and lamps are applied by trained personnel who often teach tanners how their particular skin type reacts to ultraviolet radiation and how to avoid sunburn—both outdoors as well as in the salon.
Due to the popularity of indoor tanning, many salons experience a high level of usage of the equipment. And, because of this high level of usage, there is significant concern regarding the hygiene of both the equipment and the general environment to which the clientele are exposed. Since persons lie down on sunbeds to receive the UV radiation (UVR), there is a concern about the transfer of bacteria, germs or other substances from one person to another by contact with contaminated surfaces. Proper sanitation of the acrylic surface of the sunbed is therefore of paramount importance. It is usual practice to clean the acrylic sheet with a bactericidal detergent after each use. The salon attendant may also spray a deodorizing fragrance (air freshener) in the vicinity of the sunbed prior to the arrival of the next client.
In the case of a sunbooth, the tanner stands approximately in the center of a small cabin in which multiple tanning lamps are situated vertically on panels that surround the client. The usual type of UV lamp that is used in this application is of the type known as a Reflector Lamp. This class of lamps maximizes the radiation received by the client by directing and distributing the radiation toward the middle of the booth by means of a reflector that is internal to the lamp. Booths are often fitted with reflective metallic surfaces behind the lamps in order to reflect stray radiation from the back of the lamps and opposing panels back toward the middle of the booth. Such designs effectively integrate the radiation of adjoining and opposing lamps to bathe the tanner with UVR.
These reflector lamps are designed to maximize the radiation received by a user by directing and distributing the radiation towards the middle of the booth by means of a reflector that is internal to each lamp. Ideally, for purposes of maximum tanning efficiency, all of the ultraviolet radiation incident upon the internal reflector would be reflected towards the portion of the lamp wall upon which the reflecting material has not been deposited (i.e., the window). However, it has been found that, on average, about 5 percent of the desired ultraviolet radiation (with wavelength between about 300 nm and about 400 nm) that is emitted by a reflector sunlamp is emitted through the portion of the lamp upon which the reflector has been deposited, that is, in a direction away from the user, and thus is lost.
In a sunbooth, because the client only makes physical contact with the floor (with the feet) and perhaps with support straps or handles (with the hands) at the top of the booth, the necessary cleaning of the booth is minimal as compared with a sunbed. Regardless of the minimal required cleaning, the air within the cabin and the air in the surrounding environment will very likely retain the odors coming from persons who perspire as a natural reaction to higher temperatures frequently realized in indoor tanning equipment. During perspiration, a protein is secreted that is subsequently consumed by bacteria that live in and on the skin, thereby producing a characteristic odor. With a high level of traffic in the suntan parlor, these odors could reach disturbing levels especially to the type of cosmetically conscious people most attracted to indoor tanning.
Additionally, it is known that TiO2 can be used as a photocatalytic agent to remove odors from environmental air. In other cases, devices for air deodorization are described in which the photocatalytic materials are deposited directly onto the surface of a fluorescent lamp. In these cases, however, the fluorescent lamps are either of the type used for general illumination purposes (with the emitted light mainly in the visible range, with wavelengths between approximately 400 and 800 nm) or of the type used for germicidal purposes (with the emitted light mainly in the higher energy ultraviolet range, with wavelengths between approximately 200 and 280 nm). In contrast, fluorescent lamps useful for tanning purposes are designed with the emitted light mainly in the so-called UVA region (320-400 nm) and, to a small degree, in the UVB region (280-320 nm).
Presently, bodily odors that are formed in a tanning salon are not removed. Rather, they are masked. An attendant at the tanning salon usually sprays a fragrance into the area in, and surrounding, a piece of tanning equipment. To some clients this spray may be pleasing; to others this artificial odor of fragrance may be unpleasant. Obviously, to combat odors, a person must proactively work to dispel the odors with a chemical spray. It should also be mentioned that some sprays might contain compounds that, in fact, may be harmful to the health of the customers and salon personnel.
In consideration of the current methods of treating odors in the indoor tanning industry, it is substantially much more advantageous to treat the air in a more passive way.
It would be an advance in the art if a use could be found for this previously unused radiation and further provide a deodorizing function in a tanning booth.